SLICE TONES: Sly Stone & His Infinite Influence!

...with 5 Music Players!

SLY STONE has turned 70!
To celebrate, here are Music Players with 4 decades of his disciples!

A music critic once said Soul should be divided into Before Sly and After Sly. In truth, all modern music since 1970 has been influenced by his group.

Here's a music player of The Family Stone's greatest works, followed by 4 Music Players* of 500 artists from all over the spectrum. All are in chronological order.

Music Player Shortcut links:
• 𝟭 SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: 1965-Today
• 𝟮 Sly Stone's influence: 1967-1979
• 𝟯 Sly Stone's influence: 1980-1989
• 𝟰 Sly Stone's influence: 1990-1999
• 𝟱 Sly Stone's influence: 2000-Today

*These are Spotify players. Join up for free here.

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S L Y
A N D
T H E
F A M I L Y
S T O N E

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE,
The Music: 1965-Today
by Tym Stevens

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Sly Stone produced the first records of upcoming garage and psychedelic bands in San Francisco, before joining his peers with the spectacular success of his group, Sly & The Family Stone.

The two architects of Funk are James Brown and Sly Stone. While they shared a tight propulsive rhythm, they were different in every other way.

• James kept a tight groove with Jazz touches, centered on rhythm and horns. Sly brought a freewheeling looseness that included wild Rock and avant Jazz.

• James was perfect process, sharp suits, and lock precision. Sly was power afro, brash bohemia, and happy chaos.

• James was backed by soul brothers. The Family Stone was male and female, maple and peach.

• James had national hits but was strongest within the circuit of black radio and clubs. Sly had international success while playing big festivals, including his legendary triumph at Woodstock.

• James was about the community. Sly was about a family of humanity.

Most Funk bands that followed assimilated James' tight groove with Sly's flair and philosophy.

The Family Stone has two phases: STAND and RIOT. All the music from 1967 leading into 1969's STAND album is sunny, fast, optimistic, inclusive. From 1971's THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON onward, the sound turns bluesy, staggered, critical, insular.

They are the two first and most essential Funk albums ever made.

★ Special spotlight should shine on Larry Graham. His invention of 'pluck-n-thump' bass-playing transformed modern music.

First heard on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1970), it turned funky Soul into The Funk, and influenced Yes, Fela, Jaco Pastorius, Bootsy Collins, Gang Of Four, Bill Laswell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Primus, Antibalas, the "Seinfeld" theme song, and scores more.

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S L Y
S T O N E ' S
I N F L U E N C E

Sly & The Family Stone opened up a world of possibilities that everyone explored.

Whenever you enjoy thump-ass bass, drum machines, vocoders and pitch shifters, funkadelic guitar, stabbing brass, strutting dance, political soul, empowerment anthems, and diversity bands...
say "Thank You" to The Family Stone!

Listen to the following acts and enjoy their influence in rhythm, sounds, philosophy, and fashion.

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S L I C E T O N E S /
SLY STONE's
I N F L U E N C E :
1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 9

Stevie Wonder; Betty Davis;
David Bowie; Parliament

SLY STONE-esque:
1967-'79
by Tym Stevens
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*(This Player is limited to the first 200 songs.
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)

Guests include:

Tony Joe White, James Brown, James Gang, Yes, Funkadelic, Chicago, Traffic, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, Rita Lee, Deep Purple, Miles Davis, Betty Davis, Frank Zappa, War, Roxy Music, Fat Albert, KC & The Sunshine Band, Mother's Finest, Steely Dan!

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𝟯

S L I C E T O N E S /
SLY STONE's
I N F L U E N C E :
1 9 8 0 - 1 9 8 9

Grace Jones; Tom Tom Club;
Prince; Red Hot Chili Peppers

SLY STONE-esque:
1980-'89
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

Guests include:

Magazine, Gang of Four, Zapp, Material, David Bowie, Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Prince, INXS, Trouble Funk, fireHOSE, Sly & Robbie, R.E.M., Tackhead, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Lenny Kravitz!

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𝟰

S L I C E T O N E S /
SLY STONE's
I N F L U E N C E :
1 9 9 0 - 1 9 9 9

Lenny Kravitz; Beastie Boys;
Public Enemy; Meshell Ndegeocello

SLY STONE-esque:
1990-'99
by Tym Stevens

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Guests include:

Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Family Stand, Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Arrested Development, Primal Scream, Joi, Primus, D'Angelo, Mercury Rev, Dag, Meshell Ndegeocello, Los Lobos, Fatboy Slim, OutKast, Ozomatli, Macy Gray, Beck!

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𝟱

S L I C E T O N E S /
SLY STONE's
I N F L U E N C E :
2 0 0 0 - T o d a y

Nikka Costa; Fatboy Slim;
Alice Smith; Cody ChesnuTT

SLY STONE-esque:
2000-Today
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

Guests include:

Nikka Costa, Gorillaz, Barry Adamson, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Gnarls Barkley, The Budos Band, Rhythm King & Her Friends, John Legend, The Roots, Susan Tedeschi, Jill Scott, Jurassic 5, Alice Smith, Cody ChesnuTT, Galactic, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings!

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"Everybody is a star
One big circle going round and round!"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• FUNK, The True History: The 1960s, with 3 Music Players!

• FUNK, The True History: 1970-1974, with 3 Music Players!


• Sly Stone's "I Want To Take You Higher" And Its Unending Influence!, with Music Player!

• "Everyday People" - Sly Stone > Joan Jett > Arrested Development

• "Sing A Simple Song" - Sly Stone > Jimi Hendrix > James Gang > P-Funk > Chili Peppers > Public Enemy

• "If You Want Me To Stay" - Sly Stone > Bootsy Collins > Red Hot Chili Peppers > Prince > Nikka Costa

• "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego!" - Funkadelic > Sly Stone > Beastie Boys

• ROCK Orgy: "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)!"

• "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" - Bill Withers > Diana Ross > Sly Stone > Zapp

• Sly Stone > Prince, with Music Player!


• The Real History of ROCK AND SOUL!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Scorpio" - Dennis Coffey > Grandmaster Flash > Public Enemy> Moby

ROCK Sex is back to show how songs link together.

Today's topic is the FunkRock classic "Scorpio".

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What may have kicked it off is this song by Lalo Schifrin for the DIRTY HARRY (1971) soundtrack. The villain 'Scorpio' was a clear swipe of the notorious serial killer, Zodiac, who terrorized San Francisco in this period. Schifrin's score merges some Funk moments with some musique concrete firmly in the style of Ennio Morricone's thriller scores, even down to the wordless female vocal emulating his muse Edda Dell Orso.

(This song was later sampled by N.W.A.'s "Approach To Danger" and General Electric's "Facing That Void".)

LALO SCHIFRIN -"Scorpio's Theme" (1971)



At the same time, Dennis Coffey broke out with his FunkRock monster, "Scorpio", which may've been as much about Astrology as anything. Dennis had been laying down the Funk and Rock for all of Motown's psychedelic era hits, and this lit him in his own spotlight.

Dennis' song is firmly in the 'Cop Rock' style of the hip film scores from the time, merging Rock riffs, Funky rhythms, and conga percussion into a imagined car chase of the mind.

DENNIS COFFEY & The Detroit Guitar Band -"Scorpio" (1971)



The first act to respond to his killer groove was himself! This is basically a sequel theme to a movie that didn't exist.

DENNIS COFFEY & The Detroit Guitar Band -"Son Of Scorpio" (1972)



Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio" was one of the secret weapons in AFRIKA BAMBAATAA's arsenal of groovy breaks in the dawn of HipHop. As if the scratch guitar and horn blasts weren't enough, it had that ferocious drum and bass throwdown in the middle for two minutes. A new generation soon heard it spliced into club mixes everywhere they danced.


Vibing off that but going the Kraftwerk route with their own jam, here's the original HipHop cutmaster and crew to spin some ElectroFunk.

GRANDMASTER FLASH & The Furious Five -"Scorpio" (1982)



The unparalleled architects of sample assault, Public Enemy, use Coffey's beat almost subliminally in this classic...

PUBLIC ENEMY -"Night Of The Living Baseheads" (1988)



With bass chops from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, here's Marvin Young with one of the biggest breakthroughs into the mainstream that Rap had ever had.

YOUNG MC -"Bust A Move" (1989)



Much more explicitly, here's Coffey's song as the basis of one of LL's standards...

LL COOL J -"Jingling Baby" (1990)



Taking an almost Ambient approach is this take on Coffey by Moby.

MOBY -"Mobility" (1990)



Though not as widely sliced as the evergreen Beat "Apache", this groove continues to be re-dug: West Coast All-Stars' "We're All In The Same Gang", Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth's ("Keep It Flowing"), and The Fugees' "The Score", among others.

Now if someone would just make a movie...




© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• "APACHE", HipHop's Sacred Secret Beat! - Bongo Band > Bambaataa > EVERYONE EVER

• "Amen Break" - How 6 Seconds From 1969 Propel All Modern Music

• "Good Times!" - Chic > SugarHill Gang > Queen > Defunkt > Ting Tings

• ROCK Orgy: "Genius of Love"

• Kraftwerk > Trouble Funk > Afrika Bambaataa > New Order


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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